History of Latin American Art and Visual Culture

Catalog description

Introduction to the art, architecture, and visual culture of Latin America from 1300 CE to the contemporary period. Broadly, this course covers an array of media (painting, sculpture, architecture, earthworks, metalwork, weaving and ceramics, among others) within its historical, political, religious, ideological, and economic contexts over a vast time span. Specifically, this class examines select regions and their artworks to understand the role of the visual arts within a range of varied Latin American cultures. This class explores select visual practices to highlight the ways in which Latin American artists have built on the region's shared artistic legacies as well as adapted to outside influences. This course explores the legacy of violent colonization and impacts of European conquest, while also tracing the development of colonial societies and their national independence in the early nineteenth century. The course pays special consideration to Latin America's enduring legacies and dynamic processes of change.